Day 3: From the Emerald Triangle to the Sunflower State

Couple plead guilty, plan to marry amid biggest drug bust

This property located at 1605 E. 550 Road has been seized in connection with a recent bust of a drug ring. The home was under construction by owners Chad Bauman and Carey Willming, who federal agents believe financed the build with drug money.

Locations

• Extreme Carpet Cleaning: Originally a legitimate carpet-cleaning business owned by Bauman, the facility in North Lawrence was allegedly used to receive and store drugs.

• House in Lecompton: Using drug proceeds, Bauman and Willming received a $600,000 loan to purchase property in Lecompton. The 31-acre property and a partially built home were seized by authorities as part of the drug indictment.

Timeline

• January 2006: Chad Bauman begins picking up Mexican marijuana in Texas, and bringing it back to Kansas. During the next couple years, Bauman, along with several other major players in the drug conspiracy, allegedly imports marijuana from California sources.

• January through March, 2010: Bauman makes several large purchases with what police believe are the proceeds from drug sales, and begins depositing large amounts of money into business accounts from the various businesses he owns.

• April 2010: Carey Willming begins depositing large amounts of money — alleged to be drug proceeds — into the business account for her tanning salon.

• October 2011: A confidential informant tips police off to a large drug deal at Bauman’s carpet-cleaning business. Investigators use this tip to launch a larger investigation into Bauman and his business practices.

• March 2012: Undercover officers are able to follow Bauman as he picks up drugs from a storage unit in Lawrence and conducts drug deals in Johnson County and Kansas City, Mo.

• June 2012: Using information gleaned from the investigation, authorities arrest Willming and Bauman, as well as two dozen others involved in the case.

• February 2013: Willming pleads guilty to money laundering.

• March 2013: Bauman pleads guilty, but the plea agreement is sealed.

People involved

• Chad E. Bauman, 33, Lawrence: A major supplier of marijuana who received drugs from various sources and distributed them from his carpet-cleaning business in Lawrence. Owned several area businesses, including a used-car lot, a construction company and an entertainment business. Pleaded guilty; the plea agreement has been sealed and he has not been sentenced.

• Carey L. Willming, 37, Lawrence: Engaged to Bauman, she funneled proceeds from drug sales through her Lawrence tanning salon. However, Willming is not implicated in any of the day-to-day operations of the drug conspiracy. Willming pleaded guilty to money laundering and is awaiting sentencing.

• Aaron C. Gunderson, Topeka, 36: Helped Bauman store large quantities of drugs at both a storage facility at Forbes Field in Topeka and a home in Paxico, where police discovered nearly 400 pounds of marijuana. Pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges but has not been sentenced.

• Michael S. Witt, Olathe, 37: Bought large quantities of drugs from Bauman, including a purchase in March 2012. Witt was arrested after the purchase of several pounds of marijuana, which occurred in the parking lot of Olathe North High School. Witt’s plea agreement has been sealed and he has not yet been sentenced. He is free on a $25,000 bond.

• Adam Christiansen, 31, Lawrence: Former brother-in-law of Bauman who helped store drugs and sold drugs for Bauman in Kansas and in Chicago. Christiansen also helped run Extreme Carpet Cleaning. Pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, and is free on a $25,000 bond while awaiting sentencing.

• Stephen Mallison Rector, 51, Kansas City, Kan: Helped Bauman get marijuana and cocaine. Rector also assisted Bauman in several business endeavors that were designed to conceal drug profits. Pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charge and is being held without bond pending sentencing.

Items seized

Items seized from Chad Bauman and Carey Willming during the case:

• More than $270,000 from bank accounts and in cash stored at their Lawrence home.

• A home in Lawrence and one in Lecompton, as well as property in Topeka.

Such is the case of Lawrence businessman Chad Bauman and local tanning salon owner Carey Willming. Their romance is clouded by drug trafficking, money laundering and federal convictions that could send them both to prison.

Authorities have seized the 2.4-karat, $13,000 engagement ring Bauman bought for Willming, as well as a $600,000 house in Lecompton in which they planned to live — both allegedly purchased with drug money.

Both have pleaded guilty to charges in the case, and even with possible impending prison sentences the engaged couple plan to wed — behind bars, if necessary.

During their courtship, court documents allege Willming helped Bauman funnel drug money through local businesses and area properties as part of a large federal drug case involving 43 defendants and $17 million in seized assets.

The businessman

Bauman, 33, has owned and operated numerous local businesses in the past decade, including a construction company, a used-car business, a Kansas City-area laundromat and two “entertainment” businesses, according to Kansas business records.

The businesses have come and gone over the years as their licenses expired, according to state records. At least one of the local businesses owned by Bauman, Extreme Carpet Cleaning, was central to his large-scale drug operation. In a nondescript commercial building on North 1823 Road, authorities say, Bauman stored hundreds of pounds of drugs and dealt with millions of dollars in drug money.

Bauman started trafficking drugs as early as 2006, when he would travel to Texas to pick up shipments of marijuana and cocaine imported from Mexico, according to court records. Later, he would have the drugs shipped straight to his carpet cleaning business.

Teaming up with other local drug traffickers in 2006, Bauman’s operation grew as high-grade marijuana funneled in — first from Canada and later from California, where the prices were better. The stakes kept getting higher and at one point, Bauman was shipping as much as $800,000 at a time to California for hundreds of pounds of drugs. A ledger seized from Bauman’s Lawrence home show the last shipment he received from California was for more than 400 pounds of marijuana.

Throughout the alleged drug conspiracy, Bauman needed somewhere to keep all those drugs, and that’s where his business came in handy, as well as a storage facility at Forbes Field in Topeka.

But more drugs brought more cash, which also needed a place to go. That’s where his fiancee, Willming, and another business partner came into play.

Cleaning the cash

As his drug business boomed, Bauman faced a typical problem for high-level drug dealers: he had “dirty” money from the illicit drug trade, and he needed it “cleaned” through a money-laundering mechanism, said Gregory D. Lee, a retired DEA supervisor and criminal justice consultant. Too much income, and no proof of where it came from, can raise red flags with police or the IRS, Lee said.

One way to launder money is to cycle it through a legitimate business, which is what Bauman allegedly did.

The gobs of money earned through his drug trafficking enterprise found its way into business accounts Willming kept for her Lawrence tanning salon, Ultimate Tan & Fusion, which continues to operate. Court records also indicate that Bauman and Stephen Mallison Rector, another co-defendant in the case, purchased the Mid-Town Laundromat in Kansas City, Mo., to launder the drug cash.

But inevitably, the money didn’t add up, and investigators would later allege that Willming was depositing more money into bank accounts than she earned through the tanning salon. Authorities also began paying attention to some large purchases by Bauman, including the engagement ring as well as a $56,000 truck.

In addition, police were able to follow Bauman on one particular drug-trafficking adventure in March 2012 as Bauman picked up three trash bags from a storage unit — rented by Willming’s business — at Parkway Storage in Lawrence.

Bauman then met up with Michael Shane Witt, of Olathe, in front of Olathe North High School, and the two conducted what police believe was a drug deal. A Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy, not included in the larger drug investigation, pulled Witt over for a traffic violation. Inside his car, police found several pounds of marijuana.

Bauman, meanwhile, unsuspectingly headed to Kansas City, Mo., where police watched him conduct another drug deal. Bauman was not arrested until months later in June, as part of the larger criminal case. By that time, federal authorities had enough evidence — through their surveillance of Bauman and with subpoenaed bank records — to include Bauman and Willming in the larger federal case.

Marriage plans

It’s not clear when or where Bauman, who graduated from Perry-Lecompton High School, and Willming, from McLouth, connected. But they knew each other for at least several years. Willming’s signature as a notary public appears on child custody documents related to Bauman’s son from a previous marriage.

By early 2012, with police hot on their trail, the couple continued to plan their upcoming marital life, beginning construction on a home on the 31 acres of property they bought in Lecompton.

Today, the half-finished home sits unoccupied. Federal government seizure notices are posted on a security gate.

Property in Topeka and a home in Lawrence where Bauman and Willming lived also were seized, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank accounts and cash stashed in various storage units.

In March Bauman pleaded guilty, but the details of that agreement are sealed. Willming, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to money laundering. As part of her plea, Willming agreed to provide information about the drug conspiracy and not to contest the seizure of more than $1.4 million in assets from her and Bauman.

Both await sentencing; Willming is free on a $25,000 bond and Bauman is at a federal detention facility in Leavenworth. Depending on several factors, such as their criminal history and possible cooperation against other defendants, the time they spend in prison could vary considerably.

Lawyers for the two have declined comment on the case citing the pending sentencing, not yet scheduled.

When, and whether, a wedding date has been set is unclear. But a judge in February gave approval for the two to marry at the correctional facility, “under such conditions as the United States Marshal deems appropriate.”

Wednesday: A Kansas City area businessman nicknamed “Spiderman,” spins a web of front businesses and deception to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the Lawrence and Johnson County areas. Experts say it was a classic marijuana trafficking operation.

ThingLink

The California Connection

Here's a look at how the major players in the case were allegedly connected.

"You guys remember all that fun stuff down in Mexico? Yeah, the beheadings, the rapes, mass killings, tens of thousands of murders, genocides of innocent people including women and children?" Yeah, I remember we had similar problems when the government made alcohol illegal.

Who said anything about making meth legal? I think there's a big difference between hard and soft drugs. Having all drugs illegal is a problem, however, because when they're all lumped together people tend to not understand the differences between the hard and soft drugs.

I would say soft drugs are marijuana and hash. When you go to a country like Holland they have signs posted that read "no hard drugs". That sign means you can smoke tobacco, marijuana, and hash, all other drugs are not allowed. Prescription drugs are hard drugs. Our government does not make the distinction between the two, they lump cocaine and heroin right in with soft drugs like marijuana.

No I don't think the drug cartels are fighting over marijuana (doob) only, but if we removed at least one component of their illegal enterprise I think it would be a good start. Instead of wasting our enforcement efforts on soft drugs we should focus our time and money on combating hard drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines.

I think calling marijuana addictive is an insult to the millions of people who are truly addicted to hard drugs and alcohol. Marijuana users shouldn't take up valuable space trying to "overcome" something that's not physically addictive. Instead they should save their money for one session in the Bob Newhart school of psychology or stop it, for short. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhQGze...

I'm not projecting anything, I think calling marijuana addictive is just wrong. I haven't willfully ignored anything, I just don't agree with what you're saying because it doesn't fit with my personal experience. I think there are many in our culture who like to play the victim. We like easy answers and quick cures for everything. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions and there is a huge industry of psychologists and doctors that play into that, issuing everyone drugs as an easy fix. If someone is so weak willed that they can't give up smoking marijuana on their own, I'd say that person has serious problems and I'm sorry for them.

Nicotine is also highly addictive, with a variety of negative health effects.

And, many are apparently addicted to alcohol as well.

However, those are legal. If the criteria for making something illegal is that it's addictive and bad for you, then they should be illegal as well. Or, we could take the other approach, and legalize all such substances, on the basis that it's not the government's role to protect people from themselves.

OK, so if the federal government ever decides to legalize marijuana I guess we'll have to put a label on it saying it's a highly addictive drug, those of weak will, crybabies, and people who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions are especially prone. We'll just go on treating it like addiction to cocaine, heroin, or alcohol, because there's little difference between those drugs and marijuana.

I wouldn't have tried acid, cocaine, meth, shrooms, or ecstasy if I hadn't tried and liked pot first. I will admit it was fun at the time, but it was stupid thing to do. I have been clean 15 years now, quit all that junk cold turkey, true story. Its stupid, wastes time and money. Say what you want about pot, but it is addictive and it is a gateway drug and that is an undisputable fact. Go ahead though and legalize it. People want to waste their time and money so be it.

Only reason pot is a gateway drug is because the drug dealers you are buying it from are "up-selling" the other drugs. If you never had to work with these shady characters to buy your pot, you wouldn't be introduced to meth, coke, etc...

Don't think for a second the pot dealers aren't trying to get you hooked on meth, because meth has a higher markup for the drug dealer and is more addictive.

joes_donuts, congratulations on being clean. I have a question for you. Wouldn't you say that it was the risky behavior that caused you to go up the drug chain? How many people just smoke pot and are good with just that? I think it is the people who engage in risky behavior, those are the ones who are willing to try the hard stuff.

jac, great point on the drug dealer angle. It is true. When I was in that world, my connect often tried to get me to try something and I wanted no part...too scarey.

One of the problems with marijuana is that the government has repeatedly lied about how dangerous it is, often comparing it with other drugs like cocaine and heroin. Once someone tries it and realizes it isn't as addictive/harmful as they've been led to believe it's likely that person may try other harder drugs in the belief that the government lied about them as well.

In my experience, marijuana is not physically addictive like caffeine, nicotine, or cocaine, it's more psychological. I think one would have to be very week willed to become seriously addicted to it. Heck, video games are probably more addictive.

Looks like Bauman & his lady have been knocked down a few notches. Everyone dreams of having a home like the one that they were in the process of finishing. Most aren't greedy enough to go to the limits they did to get it. Makes me wonder if they were addicted to the cocaine or the meth along with pushin it? Most meth & cocaine dealers that were in Franklin Co. have a grandiose attitude that they are better than everyone that makes their living legally. Most that are now sitting in the federal pen were also in the delusional reality that they would never get caught either.

I've seen a lot of people addicted to meth. It takes awhile for your teeth to begin rotting out. Besides that a lot of people that are addicted to meth don't have the money to take care of their teeth & don't even care about taking care of their teeth because they don't care about anything but getting high. The way it sounds though these 2 had plenty of money to keep up with their dental needs. And I'm sure with them both living professional lives with businesses to run they are going to try to keep their appearance as well groomed as possible until they can't anymore. You're appearance don't go down over night. I lived with someone for a year before there were even signs of them using & not to long after it began to catch up with them. Smoking it is what is the fastest way to rot teeth. It takes quite a bit longer if a person snorts it. But most smoke it or shoot it because it's a faster, more intense high. A lot of them crave sweets after a binge also which only makes it worse on the teeth.

Hey Editor - please note the house is not IN Lecompton! According to Google Maps, it's about 6 miles south of Lecompton, nearer to Stull. Just because their mailing address says Lecompton doesn't make them part of our town. Describing the seized home as "a house in rural Douglas County" would be far more accurate.

Understand all work done at new house was paid by cash only, enough to make one a little suspicious! Contractors probably really liked the idea though. Mucho money spent on landscaping, rockwork, playground equipment, pond, and high dollar outbuilding!